(public domain image from www.pixabay.com)
October 4th was World Animal Day in case you missed it.
MISSION OF WORLD ANIMAL DAY
To raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals. It's celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Through increased awareness and education we can create a world where animals are always recognized as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare.
The Dalai Lama offered his support for animals challenging humans to review their diet and move toward vegetarianism as an act of compassion toward our animal companions on the planet.
In a recorded message for World Animal Day on Sunday, the Dalai Lama urged people around the world to move toward more compassionate and sustainable ways of living that rely less on the exploitation of animals. “It is very useful to promote vegetarianism,” His Holiness said. “We should pay more attention toward developing more vegetables [in our diet].”
He also expressed profound concern over the extreme exploitation of animals and the growing consumption of meat from industrial-scale livestock farms in countries such as the United States, which are “environmentally very harmful,” although he also noted that “in modern times, some people are really showing concern about animal rights. This is very very encouraging.”